SUDIP AHLUWALIA, J. - (1.) THIS writ petition is directed against the Judgment and Order dated 07.02.2014 passed by the learned Central Administrative Tribunal Calcutta Branch in O.A No. 177 of 2013. In allowing the aforesaid original application filed on behalf of the respondent Nos. 1 to 9 in the present writ petition, the learned Tribunal had held that the aforesaid applicants who are all promotee officers to the West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) were entitled to be considered senior to the rest of the private respondents (being directly recruited WBCS Officers) and consequently, the State/ respondents were directed to condone the shortfall in length of service of those applicants to the extent of the difference between 01.09.1992, and the actual dates of their joining in the WBCS, for the purpose of elevation to scale no. 19, and conferment of the status of Joint Secretary by invoking the power of the Government to relax rules.
(2.) THE relevant extracts from the impugned judgment and order of the Ld. Tribunal are set out as under: - "(Para) 34. Having regard to our findings and decisions on the relevant issues, as discussed in detail in the foregoing paragraphs, we hold that the petitioners are to be considered senior to the private respondents and we direct the State respondents to condone the shortfall in length of service of the petitioners to the extent of the difference between 01.09.1992 and the actual dates of joining of the petitioners in WBCS for the purpose of elevation to scale no. 19 and conferment of the status of Joint Secretary by invoking the power of the Government to relax rules. If upon such condonation, the petitioners are eligible for elevation to scale no. 19 and conferment of the status of Joint Secretary, then they should be elevated to scale no. 19 and conferred upon the status of Joint Secretary with effect from the date of availability of vacancies in scale no. 19 without taking into account the promotion of the private respondents given in the meanwhile. If on such dates, the petitioners have not completed the prescribed length of service on the basis of their actual dates of joining in the WBCS, then the elevation/conferment of status referred to above will be notional and actual financial benefit will be available from the date of completion of the prescribed length of service on the basis of the actual dates of joining. If, however, any of the petitioners retires/has retired before completion of the prescribed length of service, his retirement benefits including pension shall be fixed/revised on the basis of notional pay on the date of retirement. We leave it to the Government to decide how the private respondents who have already got elevation/promotion to scale no. 19 will be accommodated in the event vacancies in scale no. 19 are not available after elevation /promotion of the petitioners, but we have made it abundantly clear that no accommodation of such private respondents can be made affecting the interest of the petitioners. We also make it clear that the State respondents shall not allow any further elevation/promotion of any officer junior to the petitioners to scale no. 19 before exhausting the case of the petitioners. The entire exercise shall have to be completed within a period of three months from the date of communication of this judgment."
(3.) THE facts mentioned in the original application filed before the learned Tribunal by the Respondent Nos. 1 to 9 in the present writ petition are briefly mentioned hereinafter : - "The Respondent Nos. 1 to 9, being the applicants in the Original Application, passed the WBCS (Exe) etc. Examination in the year 1980 except Respondent No. 8 who passed the said examination in the year 1982. After passing the examination all of them joined the post of Joint Block Development Officer (hereinafter referred to as Joint BDO), which is a Group 'C' post of the said examination, in the period between December, 1981 and February, 1982 except Respondent No. 8 who joined in 1984. Joint BDO is the feeder post of WBCS (Exe) Cadre. It may be mentioned that after serving in the feeder post of Joint BDO for 6 (six) years the Respondents /Applicants Nos. 1 to 9 became eligible for promotion to the WBCS (Exe) in terms of the West Bengal Civil Service (Executive) Recruitment Rules, 1978 (hereinafter referred to as the said Recruitment Rules), which provides, inter alia, that 50% of the vacant posts are to be filled up by promotion from the list of feeder posts which includes the Joint BDOs and remaining 50% posts are to be filled up by the direct recruits selected on the basis of recommendation made by the Public Service Commission, West Bengal." Considering the career prospects of the employees holding posts and services under the State Government, Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) was introduced for the first time by Memo dated 21st June, 1990 allowing Government employees in the revised pay scales nos. 1 to 16 to move to their respective next higher scale on completion of ten years of continuous and satisfactory service in their respective revised scales and their corresponding unrevised scales taken together, and move to the scale next above the first higher scale on completion of further ten years of continuous and satisfactory service in the first higher scale, and the corresponding unrevised scales under previous ROPA Rules taken together.;